Grand Rounds - Lisa Wexler and Roberta Moto

Please attend a presentation (with pizza):

Working with Indigenous Communities to Prevent Suicide and Harms from Substance Use: Examples and Reflections from Three Decades of Doing Engaged and Participatory Research

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Speakers

Roberta Moto (Iñupiaq name Anausuk) is the Wellness Program Manager for Maniilaq Association and a tribal member of the Native Village of Deering, Alaska, where she lives and works. Drawing on her experience as an ICWA Coordinator, Tribal Administrator, and Village-Based Counselor, she brings deep knowledge of community-based wellness and suicide prevention. Roberta is a co-creator of PC CARES and has guided the program since its inception by training facilitators, leading learning circles, and mentoring communities as they implement and sustain the program. Ms Moto has also led efforts to implement a family-focused, clinic-based lethal means reduction brief intervention, the Family Safety Net in area clinics. As a local leader, she serves on the Alaska Native Collaborative Hub for Research on Resilience (ANCHRR) Research Steering Committee and Alaska’s Statewide Suicide Prevention Council, bringing a vital community and practitioner perspective to this lecture.

Lisa Wexler is a professor of social work and research professor at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research. For three decades, she has partnered with Indigenous Elders, young people, families, community leaders, and service providers to prevent suicide through participatory action research. Her federally funded work translates research into self-determined community action, amplifies Indigenous strengths, and develops practical, culturally grounded approaches to youth and community wellness. Drawing on initiatives such as PC CARES, the Alaska Native Community Resilience Study, and Family Safety Net, this lecture offers examples and reflections on the possibilities and complexities of sustained community–academic partnership.